Unknown Administrator Password In Vista

[Tefler]

I'm not sure if this is possible, but …. a friend's sister died and he now has her computer which has Vista loaded. However, he doesn't have her password. I've tried going into Safe Mode to see if I could enter as Administrator, but the only thing available is one called 'User' (it has the chess piece icon) and it requires a password. There's no 'change user' option.
Is there any way of either adding a user or accessing the password? I've noticed several programs advertised that would help with this, but I don't know which (if any) is safe to download onto my computer. There's no reset disk and because Vista was preloaded, there's no Windows boot disk either.

[Buenchico]

I buy cheap password-protected laptops at auction and discover the passwords using Ophcrack.

Step 1: Make sure that you've got a blank USB memory stick available.

Step 2: Download Rufus to your own computer. (It's a little program that burns ISO files to USB drives).
https://rufus.ie/

Step 3: Download the Ophcrack Vista Live CD:
http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php?type=livecd
(You're not actually using a CD. The download is simply an ISO file which you can burn to a USB memory stick).

Step 4: Use Rufus to burn the ISO file to your USB memory stick.

Step 5: Eject the memory stick and insert it into the locked computer.

Step 6: Boot the locked computer up. If it's already configured to look for an operating system on a USB drive ahead of one on its hard drive it will run Ophcrack. If nothing happens you'll need to go into the BIOS of the locked computer to change the boot order and then try again.

Rufus instructions here:
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-burn-an-iso-file-to-a-usb-drive-2619270

Ophcrack instructions here:
https://www.passmoz.com/how-to-use-ophcrack.html
(NB: It's 'Part 2' which you need there)

[Tefler]

Thanks, Buenchico. I'm doing a late shift today, so won't have time to play with the computer today, but will certainly give it a go.

[Tefler]

Hi again, BuenChico. I thought I'd followed all the instructions you gave, but I'm getting the message: no default or ui configuration directive found!

What have I done wrong, do you think?

[Tefler]

Back again!
I tried again downloading Ophcrack as DD rather than ISO file. This has had some success, in that I've managed to get to the desktop of the machine, but I'm now faced with a screen I hadn't expected.
It says at the top 'Ophcrack Launcher' and under that there are several headings:
Search, DeepSearch, SipSearch, LowRAM, Ophcrack, Passwords, Automount and Quit. I've been down the lot of these and pressed OK, but nothing useful has come up.
Again, I'm wondering what I've done wrong and would appreciate some advice.

[Buenchico]

Hmmm.

I fear that I might be out of my depth here but I'll have a go at answering anyway:

If, when you say "I've managed to get to the desktop of the machine", you mean that you're seeing the Windows desktop then something has gone wrong. The idea behind using Ophcrack is that it doesn't use the Windows operating system at all but launches a separate (mini) operating system, from which Ophcrack then runs.

It's at least a year since I last used Ophcrack myself but, as I remember it, the tricky bit is persuading the computer to look for an operating system on the USB memory stick ahead of one on its hard drive. If the computer doesn't do it automatically you need to go into the BIOS (by pressing F8 during the boot sequence) and change the boot order. Confusingly though, I seem to recall that you actually need to tell the computer to look for a different hard drive, rather than an external device. So playing with the boot options (while using a USB memory stick with the ISO file burnt to it) might be what you need to do.

[The Builder]

An alternative to Chris's method........

https://www.tunesbro.com/forgot-windows-vista-password.html

Method 1 is fine, if long-winded, and as their disclaimer says, is for the brave.
Try Method 2 with the download.

[Buenchico]

^^^ That download will cost you $30.

(The web is full of pages like that one, with complicated instructions for one way of doing things and then a nice easy - but expensive alternative - is offered. I'd be particularly wary of using any site though which appears to offer a Mac version of a tool which is specifically for Windows anyway!)

[Tefler]

Mmmmm … I'm not prepared to pay for software to do this. If it comes to that, it can go to a repair shop and an expert can have a go. I'm afraid I don't really follow the instructions in Method 1, so really am not one of 'The Brave' - thanks for the suggestion, anyway.

As for the Booting sequence, yes, I did need to play with that a bit to make it work and it did boot - it just didn't do what I was expecting when it did so! Again, thank you for the suggestion.

Any further ideas gratefully considered.

[Tefler]

When I say 'it didn't do what I was expecting', basically it came up with 'no tables found', where I'd expected it to show me the user name and password.

[Buenchico]

Try removing the password altogether:
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-remove-passwords-using-offline-nt-password-registry-editor-2626167
(Note: The images on that page will enlarge when you click on them, enabling you to view the screen shots).

[TonyV]

Tefler if your still having problems tomorrow will contact a friend who's mustard with windows, and will ask his advice

[Tefler]

Woo Hoo! It worked! The password has gone and he's now able to use the computer. Thank you all for your time and your help.

[TonyV]

Good Good

[Buenchico]

I'm pleased that we got there in the end!